SC&RA Crane & Rigging Workshop

The 2018 SC&RA Crane & Rigging Workshop will take place on 26-28 September at the Louisville Marriott Downtown hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. The Workshop brings together owners, operators, safety directors and operations managers from the industry’s foremost manufacturers and companies. Workshop sessions will have an emphasis on safety, regulatory and consensus standards, training, equipment maintenance, as well as current issues affecting the industry. There will also be an Exhibit Centre, with more than 90 booths, where attendees can make new contacts quickly and easily.  

Recognising pitfalls

A concern many in attendance have is the persistent nature of litigation throughout the marketplace. Bill Smith, executive vice president of claims and risk management for NBIS, will address this issue with his presentation Practical ways to protect your company from lawsuits. Smith will examine the lottery-like nature of today’s lawsuits and offer attendees practical ways to defend themselves in the event of a suit filed against their company or employees.

Similarly underscoring the importance of knowing the rules of the game, Steven Todd, SC&RA vice president of transportation, will articulate how one permitting mistake could cost a company millions of dollars in his session Mobile cranes on the move: using new OS/OW rules to your advantage. A former state department of transportation official, Todd will explain how to take advantage of a recent federal government ruling on mobile cranes to maximise time and budget. All aspects of securing permits and working with law enforcement and government officials will be covered.

Jim Wiethorn, PhD., P.E., Haag Engineering, and Fernanda Leite, PhD, P.E., associate professor of the University of Texas, will examine what contributes to accidents in their presentation The hazards of service providers. Wiethorn and Leite will point to recent research that suggests a that lack of safety talks, pre-lift meetings and miscommunication between service providers (crane rental firms) and their clients are largely responsible and outline what attendees can do to reduce the risk of accidents.  

There will also be legal advice in the form of Michael Rubin, partner attorney, Goldberg Segalla, who will talk attendees through how to take control of their company’s compliance by knowing their rights and responsibilities during his session An attorney’s point of view: playing offense with OSHA.

Staying compliant

Using SC&RA’s new Severe Weather Guidelines publication as an example, Troy Pierce, vice president, health safety and environmental, of TNT Crane & Rigging, will explain best practices for managers who want to introduce new practices and rules to employees in his presentation Bridging the gap between compliance and choice.

Complementing Pierce, Patrick Clark, national rental support manager at Lifting Gear Hire, and Tom Beasley, business support manager at Lifting Gear Hire, will be looking at the issues of organisation and compliance when it comes to tooling operations. During their presentation Tackle any job with better tool management, Clark and Beasley will show attendees the options available in inventory management, inspection recording, and other tools, so that their teams can be both efficient and compliant (ASME B30 standards and OSHA 1910).

Crucial calculations

Application will be the name of the game when Brooks Nunley, technical sales and key account manager for Cortland Company, and Dennis Sherman, technical sales manager of cranes for Sampson Rope, take the stage to present How to successfully use synthetics. They will look at the effects of bending on synthetic fibre ropes and slings and how they differ from steel wire and round slings.

Staying on theme, Sam Socolow, product application and training manager for manufacturer and distributor of below the hook lifting devices and rigging supplies Ashley Sling will look at how to calculate reduction and tension factors and the effects of angular loading on hardware in Calculating sling angles and hardware selection.  

Jamison Fox from International Industrial Contracting Corporation will guide attendees through the elements of preparing an engineered lift plan in his presentation Engineered lift plans from A to Z.

In addition to two evening receptions and a First Timers’ Briefing, the Workshop will also shine a light on the 2018 Rigging Job of the Year winners, representing the four best projects in their categories for exemplifying safety practices, ingenuity and specialized engineering.